'Snapshots From Chile' on Serious Eats

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee While I was delayed at Newark Airport on my way to Chile (curse American Airlines...curse), I killed some time by calling my friend Diana and asking what she'd like for me to bring back for her and her Chilean boyfriend, Ian. "Negritas! Get Negritas! They're really good!" "Get a what?" "It's a type of biscuit. Ian's mom just brought a few bags back from Chile. ...And we ate a bag." I wrote down the name in my notebook and made it my major goal of the trip to return back to America... More

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee My final meal in Chile was a laid-back lunch at Puerto Fuy, an upscale restaurant regarded as one of Santiago's best. In between our main courses and desserts, we were served red wine sorbet made almost instantly by our table with the aid of a steaming pot of liquid nitrogen. As one waiter poured the liquid nitrogen into a sleek white, porcelain bowl partially filled with wine, the other waiter used two spoons to constantly mix the wine and nitrogen together. After a few minutes and pourings, we were each presented with... More

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee Having only been exposed to the skinny, sugar-coated, star-shaped variety of churros, I was surprised when I came across the completely different looking Chilean version at a bakery in Temuco. A churro in Chile is like an elongated hot dog bun-shaped doughnut sandwich filled with a layer of golden dulce de leche. The dough of this churro was a bit on the heavy side, but I can't say no to sweet bread slathered in sweet, creamy goodness. Not until I get diabetes, at least.... More

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee "They don't serve any alcohol?" asked Jenn incredulously. "No," insisted Carolina, our Chilean host. "They just serve coffee." Jenn, Wes and I—the clueless Americans in Chile—were befuddled by the Chilean institution that is café con piernas, or "coffee with legs." Think Hooters, but with a focus on long legs and dainty cups of coffee instead of boobs and chicken wings. Sex appeal sans booze? Interesting. As these cafes have been around since the 1960s, the formula of coffee and legs must work pretty well. Although visiting one of these cafes wasn't part... More

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee One of my new favorite ingredients that I had never come across before visiting Chile is the piñone, or pine nut. But it's not the same kind of pine nut you find in North America; these pine nuts come from the native Chilean Araucaria araucana, or monkey puzzle tree. As you can see in the photo above, taken at a small Mapuche restaurant run by Anita Epulef in the southern town of Curarrehue, these pine nuts are huge, resembling large, pointy elongated beans more than the little Tic-Tac-sized seed I'm used to.... More

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee I ate pastel de choclo (corn and meat pie) just twice during my week in Chile, but saw it many more times than that. Break through the crust of this baked dish and dip into a hearty, sweet and savory corn pudding flavored with garlic and onion (and other possible spices including paprika, cumin, and oregano), and laden with meat bits at the bottom. Beef and chicken seem to be most common meats, but seafood may also be mixed in. Hell, you can probably put in whatever you want as long as... More

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee On our drive from Santiago to the winery-laden Cachapoal Valley, we stopped in Pomaire, a small village famous for its clay pottery, including bowls, baking ware, and vases in all different sizes, along with cute piggy banks. If you eat at any restaurant serving traditional food in Chile, you'll probably find that they use pottery from Pomaire. Although the village's dusty streets were mostly semi-deserted on a Tuesday morning, we were able to browse a few shops selling their super-low priced wares. I bought four medium-sized bowls pictured above from a shop... More